“That was a bad, bad day and bad finish over there, right? So it’s kind of, [Coach Spencer Carbery] was trying to help me but eventually, it was a bad result,” Kuznetsov said. “I love him so much and he’s trying to help me, trying to help the team but unfortunately, the result wasn’t there. I feel like it’s on me, too, a lot.”
Kuznetsov has just four goals and five assists for a total of nine points in 19 games this season. The Capitals have scored the fewest goals in the league, with 50 in 22 games, and though they’ve found ways to win with narrow margins this year, they need the offense to pick up. Kuznetsov, a play-driving center who can create space for his teammates and make high-level plays in the offensive zone when he’s at his best, is a key element of that.
“I feel like we’ve been missing those 15, 20 points by me, and that’s 20 goals,” Kuznetsov said. “If we could score those 20 goals, we’d probably be top-10 in the league in terms to goal-scoring, so that’s what we’re missing. And I understand that. … I want to succeed here. I want my team to celebrate every game.”
3 Comments
From [Bailey Johnson](https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/bailey-johnson/?itid=ai_top_johnsonb2):
To describe his feelings on being a healthy scratch, Evgeny Kuznetsov required the use of an expletive.
“That’s s—,” the Washington Capitals center said. Kuznetsov was scratched for [Monday’s 6-0 loss to the Arizona Coyotes](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/12/04/evgeny-kuznetsov-healthy-scratch-caps-coyotes/?itid=lk_inline_manual_3), and witnessing the beatdown didn’t make an already-angry Kuznetsov feel any better as he sat behind the scenes.
“That was a bad, bad day and bad finish over there, right? So it’s kind of, [Coach Spencer Carbery] was trying to help me but eventually, it was a bad result,” Kuznetsov said. “I love him so much and he’s trying to help me, trying to help the team but unfortunately, the result wasn’t there. I feel like it’s on me, too, a lot.”
Kuznetsov has just four goals and five assists for a total of nine points in 19 games this season. The Capitals have scored the fewest goals in the league, with 50 in 22 games, and though they’ve found ways to win with narrow margins this year, they need the offense to pick up. Kuznetsov, a play-driving center who can create space for his teammates and make high-level plays in the offensive zone when he’s at his best, is a key element of that.
“I feel like we’ve been missing those 15, 20 points by me, and that’s 20 goals,” Kuznetsov said. “If we could score those 20 goals, we’d probably be top-10 in the league in terms to goal-scoring, so that’s what we’re missing. And I understand that. … I want to succeed here. I want my team to celebrate every game.”
**Read the full story here, and skip the paywall with email registration:** [**https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/12/06/evgeny-kuznetsov-healthy-scratch-reaction/?utm_campaign=wp_main&utm_medium=social&utm_source=reddit.com**](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/12/06/evgeny-kuznetsov-healthy-scratch-reaction/?utm_campaign=wp_main&utm_medium=social&utm_source=reddit.com)
All the shit I talked on Stanley Cup Final Healthy Scratch Reeves and it circled back to our team. This one’s karma on me boys.
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